16 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



a rare occurrence among the women of savage tribes, 

 practically unknown; and if such a thing happened 

 the child would doubtless be allowed to perish. 

 From certain passages in the New Testament — 

 notably Hebrews v. 2, 1 Corinthians iii. 2, and 

 1 Peter ii. 2 — some writers have inferred that among 

 the Jews artificial infant feeding was by no means 

 rare, the infants being fed upon the milk of animals,' 

 generally of goats. Proverbs xxvii. 27, or sheep, 

 Deuteronomy xxxii. 14 ; but, so far as I am aware, 

 there is no evidence that such artificial feeding was 

 extensively practised, nor do the passages cited lend 

 much support to the contention that the milk of goats 

 and sheep was used as a food for young infants in 

 place of human breast milk. 



It is significant that Hebrew women have an ex- 

 ceptionally good record in this respect, failiu-es to 

 nurse their offspring being much rarer among them 

 than among Gentile women of the same class,* and 

 also that the elaborate Rabbinical provisions concern- 

 ing the dietetic use of milk and its hygiene make no 

 special mention of milk intended for infants.^ While 

 it is probably true that the artificial feeding of infants 

 was sometimes resorted to in ancient times, it was 

 never practised to anything like the extent with 

 which we are familiar to-day. For with us the in- 

 ability of a mother to nurse a child is not an occa- 

 sional event; on the contrary, among the middle and 



